River victim 'brutally murdered'

The body was found during river dredging at Old Kilpatrick

A murder inquiry has been launched after the body of a man who died in a "brutal attack" was found in an oil drum in the River Clyde.

The unidentified man was discovered near the Erskine Bridge at Old Kilpatrick, West Dunbartonshire, on Thursday morning.

A routine dredging of the river uncovered the body halfway between Old Kilpatrick and Erskine at 0940 BST.

The body is thought to have been in the water for between three and 14 days.

After a post-mortem examination, Strathclyde Police confirmed they were treating the death as suspicious.

The man, whose body was partially decomposed, was aged anywhere between 20 and 50-years-old and was 6ft tall, of stocky to heavy build with very short hair.

He was partially clothed and was wearing a blue polo shirt with the words Yves Saint Laurent across the chest.

Some family has suffered a terrible tragedy and it is important that we identify this man Det Ch Insp Neil Thomson

Det Ch Insp Neil Thomson, of Dumbarton CID, said: "It was a brutal attack and the post-mortem confirmed that this man was the victim of murder.

"Some family has suffered a terrible tragedy and it is important that we identify this man."

Detectives hope that someone might be able to identify the man from the distinctive jewellery he was wearing.

The man had a gold coloured ring on the little finger of his left hand, which had the word 'Dad' written on it, with stones embedded in the letters.

On the wedding finger of his left hand the man was wearing a large square-shaped ring, similar to a signet ring, with a square emblem on it.

Police released a picture of the dead man's rings

Det Ch Insp Thomson appealed to members of the public to contact police with information.

He said: "These two rings will probably have been known to someone.

"Is there a relative or friend who wore these rings and perhaps you have not seen them for a few days?

"Particularly the ring with 'Dad' on it suggests the victim was a parent."

Police said they did not know where the body was dumped in the water and would be consulting marine experts about how the tides could affect the movement of the body in the river.

Detectives said they will be examining missing persons reports from Strathclyde and across Scotland as part of the inquiry.